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96.    1870 U.S. Shield Nickel countermarked "J.Ames/C.Steel". According to Counterstamp expert and

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:10.00 - 50.00 USD
96.    1870 U.S. Shield Nickel countermarked  J.Ames/C.Steel . According to Counterstamp expert and
96.    1870 U.S. Shield Nickel countermarked "J.Ames/C.Steel". According to Counterstamp expert and author Gregory Brunk, "These coins were countermarked from a single punch. "J.Ames" is above "C.Steel" for "Cast Steel," a term often stamped on 19th century tools, guns, etc. Rulau (1999:614) suggested the issuer may have been Ames & Co. of Jersey City, NJ. The more likely issuer was either the Ames Mfg. Co. or the Ames Sword Co, related firms. both of Chicopee, Ma. The original company was founded in 1832 by James Tyler and Nathan Peabody Ames. It made tools, cotton machinery, cannon, cutlery, etc. Eventually it made more swords for the US government than anyone else and by the 1890s was making bicycles too...." Five specimens known, with this being the last known dated coin.